News & Insights

The United States is experiencing a crisis of maternal morbidity and mortality. Sixty percent of the roughly 700 deaths from pregnancy-related complications each year are considered preventable. In response, lawmakers have introduced a host of legislation aimed at improving maternal health and reducing the maternal mortality rate, particularly among those groups that are disproportionately impacted, including black and Hispanic mothers.

The connection between health and social factors like housing, food security, education and exposure to violence is clear. So, too, are the challenges faced by a health care system that is increasingly expected to address these connections despite the disconnection between treating individual symptoms and participating in population-level strategies to reduce barriers to good health. In this Q&A, the authors of this article from the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics explore how partnerships among health, public health, and legal experts are essential to addressing the upstream causes of poor health.

The Network announced two new members of its National Advisory Board: Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and Dr. Aaron Wernham, Chief Executive Officer of the Montana Healthcare Foundation.

The popular social justice movement Health at Every Size focuses on health improvement as the goal, irrespective to weight loss, and advocates for social acceptance of all body sizes, including morbid obesity. With obesity prevalence at an all-time high in the U.S., some public health officials are concerned that persons who view obesity as healthy are less likely to lose weight, increasing their risks for many chronic health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.

The Journal of Law Medicine and Ethics recently published a special supplement with articles exploring critical topics discussed at the 2018 National Public Health Law Conference. In this Q&A, the co-authors of the article, “Equity in Action: Operationalizing Processes in State Governance” discuss their article, which examines efforts to embed an equity lens in legislated and non-legislated policies and practices in three states and describes progress and lessons learned and offers guidance to others.

Excessive alcohol use is responsible for approximately 88,000 deaths every year, among many other health risks, and research shows that the more readily available alcohol is in a community, the greater the negative impacts. The U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned a Tennessee law regulating the distribution of alcohol, a move that many public health advocates fear is likely to be a harbinger of more restrictions on state and local government ability to regulate alcohol for health or safety purposes.

The Network for Public Health Law is proud to announce the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a Partner Sponsor of the 2020 National Public Health Law Conference, taking place September 16 - 18 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Since 1988 there have been 4,500 documented cases of children endangered because a parent or guardian left them unattended in a parked car. More than 36 children die annually across America each year from vehicular heatstroke. Federal law has been introduced to prevent these tragic deaths, but stronger state laws can also help protect children.

Forty-six percent of Medicaid spending goes to Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), which receive capitated payments—meaning they get a set dollar amount regardless of how much they spend on providing services. Recent reports suggest that MCOs in numerous states are providing below average or poor preventive care, possibly to millions of Medicaid recipients.

Many states allow for license suspension for non-payment of fees and fines for traffic offenses. These suspensions often have significant health impacts, some of which seem obvious—people need transportation to access medical care. But a closer look reveals a plethora of other negative consequences that impact public health.

In an effort to combat opioid overdose, the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years old, states have attempted to make the overdose-reversing drug naloxone more available through the use of “standing orders” which permit naloxone to be dispensed to an individual with whom the prescriber (e.g. doctor, nurse practitioner) does not have a prescriber-patient relationship, a practice which is otherwise generally prohibited.

Although the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act directed the FDA to propose graphic warnings to be required on cigarette packages and advertising by June 2011, cigarette packages and ads in the US still do not contain graphic warnings. In August 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with other public health organizations, filed suit against the FDA seeking to force the Agency to propose graphic warnings as mandated by Congress.